Looney

Posted on Wed Feb 17th, 2021 @ 1:57am by Executive Officer Jake Ford & Chief Helmsman Eden Bowers

Mission: Mission 12 - Railway
Location: Eden's Quarters
Timeline: MD-03 2340hrs
1642 words - 3.3 OF Standard Post Measure

Eden stuck out her bottom lip to blow her flighty hair out of the way when she remembered that she no longer had her blonde fuzz. She pouted until she saw Jake coming down the corridor in Liha's body. "Jakey. I have the best idea. I can't sleep and there's something I want to introduce you to. I know you'll love it. We might even be able to smuggle some popcorn in on the deal. Please come?"

Jake felt himself perk up at Eden - in spite of her physical form. After recent events he was still feeling self-conscious wandering the ship alone. "Whatever it is, I can't think of anything better right now," he replied, approaching and slipping his hand into hers. "What did you have in mind?"

"A very very old show. But it's cute, you'll like it. I'll explain everything while we watch. It's sort of for kids, or at least it was when it was made but there's so much for adults in it as well. The humor has lasted hundreds of years and I still find it funny." Eden closed her mouth, not wanting to tell him too much before they even got there. "Don't worry, I've already fed Stan."

He let her lead him back towards their quarters, relieved that she'd mentioned her pet given Liha's natural heightened sensitivity to scents and sounds. It was weird the first couple of days that he'd noticed Stan's movements much more. "You've definitely got my attention," he admitted, taking a seat on the couch. "Popcorn?" he wondered.

"Oh yes, I'll grab some. Will you be okay alone for a minute?" She looked at Stan and then back at Jake. She'd put a lock on Stan's cage to avoid her, Eden had decided she was a girl after all, escaping and cuddling with Jake again. Of course in this new body Stan might now know it was him. Eden wasn't taking any chances though.

"So long as I'm not going to get ambushed by Fenris Rangers again, I'll be perfectly fine," he responded, spreading out on the couch. He wasn't used to being able to stretch out to his full length normally - Jake's legs would have stuck out over one side, but Liha's were shorter.

"Ugh, don't remind me of them. I'll be back in a few minutes." And she was, and with her she'd brought a bowl of freshly popped corn with some salt and butter on it. "Here you go, as promised. If someone asks you what happened to the supply. You know nothing about it," she said very seriously and then smiled, sitting down in front of him on the floor as soon as she had started the show. "You're going to love this. It's called Looney Tunes."

"So it's a musical?" Jake asked, tossing some popcorn into his mouth. It tasted different. Not to Liha's tastes so much as his own, perhaps.

"Well in the sense that there is music in it. The characters sometimes sing and sometimes try to kill each other. Sometimes both. There are certain pairs that are always after each other like the Coyote and the Road Runner, or Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd." Eden shrugged. "You'll get a feel for it once you've seen a few episodes."

"Sounds a little bit like life on board Rosie..." he muttered, thinking about the scrapes and shenanigans they'd all been through. He tried to follow the cartoons on screen, a faint smile crossing his face as the amusing characters got themselves into all manner of escalating craziness. Somewhat oddly, he found himself snuggling up to Eden in Gregnol's body. It was a strange reversal of things that he was now the smaller body with a large arm around his shoulders, but to his surprise he found he actually enjoyed it.

Eden smiled as she watched Jake. Of course it wasn't his body but she could still see the expression behind the eyes that showed contentment. It made her happy that he liked being close to her. "Jake," Eden asked carefully. "What are your views on marriage?"

He almost leapt out of her grasp at the question. On one hand it was very much out of the blue and unexpected. Then again, this was Eden Bowers - 'Out of the blue and unexpected' would be written on her gravestone one day. He had to think hard about it. Not just because of what it meant, but also the very real possibility that they could be stuck in their current bodies for the rest of their lives. It was so much more complicated than it could have been in any other circumstance.

"It's...a thing people do," he said cautiously. "I suppose I always wanted to settle down with the right person someday, but..." he motioned to the slender female body he now inhabited. "I never really thought it would be as a housewife, if you know what I mean."

Eden giggled. "No, I suppose not. I don't care if we get married. Sebastian wanted to, he was kind of old fashioned that way. Wanted to make sure I was provided for if something happened to him since we couldn't really bring our relationship public, not without a lot of stigma. I still miss him though, the look he used to give me as if he just couldn't fathom something I'd said but at the same time he was totally amused. You give me that look sometimes too," she grinned.

Jake nodded silently as she talked about Sebastian and her plans from so many decades ago. It was doubly weird to hear it coming from Gregnol's mouth. The use of the 'M'-word, even discounting the strange period of their relationship they found themselves in, was a bit of a surprise. After a moment's consideration he found the words to say. "Well, I guess that sounds nice. And it's good we can be honest about it." He watched the screen a moment as a brown animal of some kind ran headfirst into a painted highway on a stone wall. "Is it weird I'm actually identifying with some of these characters right now?"

"How so?" Eden turned her head to look at him. She knew she'd dropped a bombshell on him but had wanted to see how he responded and wasn't disappointed. He hadn't run screaming from the room at the mere thought of the word.

"Look at us," he replied. "Our lives are 'looney' right now. The crazy things that keep happening to this ship and crew, I probably wouldn't be surprised if someone painted a doorway on the bulkhead and was able to run right through it."

Eden giggled. "That's true. I didn't imagine we'd be in different bodies anytime soon." She thought about it another moment. "Though I guess some people have always thought I was a bit looney," she shrugged. "I try not to care what other people think. Except for you."

"That's sweet," he smiled. He felt a strong urging to want to hug her, despite their physical changes. It would be weird, he told himself. But then again he'd already been kissed by a man once already and so it didn't feel like a barrier he'd necessarily have to overcome. He wasn't sure how Eden would take it though. Sidling up into the crook of her arm, he decided that in that moment he loved the woman beneath that masculine face looking back at him. And maybe that was enough, he figured, going in for a kiss.

"Uh Jake?" Eden said as Liha's lips approached her. "I don't know about that. I mean we are in other people's bodies. It seems a bit weird to me." She was being honest. She hoped she wouldn't hurt him. Eden would have gladly kissed him as much as he wanted in her own body. "And well . . . Liha was sort of flirting with one of the rangers in your body which really made me mad."

"She...what?" He recoiled very quickly, alarmed. "That's..." He paused, processing the thought. Especially given his own encounter with the Romulan Fenris Ranger in the hallway. "I'm sorry. I'll talk to her, straighten things out. I thought we could trust each other, but maybe not after all."

"She'd probably just hit you over the head. It's done. I don't think anything serious happened anyway, just drained me. I hate being mad." Eden admitted. "Laughter is all light and anger makes me sink," she explained as if emotions could actually do those things to her body. If they could Eden would choose to laugh all the time and would be floating around the ceiling.

"It's why you're better than some angry Romulan femme fatale," he agreed. "I kinda miss your laugh. It's not the same when it's a few octaves lower."

"I imagine not. We'll figure this out," she sighed. "And be back in our bodies in no time. We just need lots of chocolate and a little bit of patience. Everything always works out alright in the end, even if it doesn't seem like it at the time." She was thinking about Sebastian again. His death had been hard, but she had found her silver lining in Jake.

Always optimistic. That was another reason why he liked being with Eden, he recognised. Sure there were plenty of interesting and adventurous women out there to be had, but he had one of the most unique. And he was grateful for her ability to keep him feeling upbeat. He tossed a couple of fragments of popcorn at her. "Does anything ever get you down?" he grinned.

"Yes, but I try not to think about those things." Eden said, snuggling down against him. "Oooh, this one is my favorite, I love the coyote and the road runner. I always route for the coyote."

 

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